Simón Pérez and Silvia Charro are out of Kick after the controversy surrounding the death of the French strummer.

BarcelonaGetting tattoos, going out dressed as Pikachu and singing Francoist anthems, drinking his own urine, or getting high for hours are some of the content that Simón Pérez, along with his partner, Silvia Charro, broadcasts for their audience on the Australian platform Kick. But the streaming platform has decided to expel the Spanish duo, known as SS Conexión, following the death of French streamer Raphaël Graven and for violating community rules.

Pérez and Charro had become famous in 2017 with a viral video about mortgages, but in recent years they have gained notoriety for taking on dangerous challenges and using drugs live in exchange for money.

According to the platform, content creators must respect "all laws and regulations of their country," and while no specific details were given about the reasons for the ban, a spokeswoman indicated that it was a violation of its rules or terms of service. SS Conexión had already been suspended in early August for two weeks for displaying a user's private data on screen, and the final ban comes just a week after the death of Graven, who died live while doing extreme challenges.

Pérez and Charro, who had built a large audience on Kick, had even undergone risky tests and used substances to entertain their followers, in some cases using code words like "airplanes" or "sandwiches" to refer to drugs. During the last few streams, Pérez stated that he had been sober for over two weeks, although his audience interaction included constant provocations to get him back to the challenges. Among the tests they underwent were shaving their hair, getting tattoos, going out in costume and shouting in public, drinking their own urine, and undergoing physical challenges that put their health at risk.

Following Kick's expulsion, the couple has recovered old YouTube accounts to continue broadcasting, albeit with a very small number of viewers. Pérez has also announced that he would try several streaming platforms, such as Trovo, owned by Tencent, which offers financial incentives if certain viewership levels and durations are reached during live streams. However, the loss of followers remains a challenge: on YouTube they only reach tens of viewers, and on Trovo they have temporarily reached 100, making it difficult to obtain significant donations.

In addition to the income they obtained through donations and sponsorships, Pérez gave classes and gave investment advice, an activity that had initially made them famous. In his last live streams, he explained investment strategies and offered personalized advice in exchange for small amounts of money. For his part, Charro had recently reported on social media that Pérez had voluntarily checked himself into a psychiatric center to treat his drug addiction, although he left the following day.

The removal of Pérez and Charro reflects the growing concern among streaming platforms about policing extreme and risky content, especially following serious incidents like Graven's death. Kick, which historically maintained more lax moderation standards than other platforms, appears to have tightened its policies following this episode, though it has yet to detail the specific criteria that led to SS Conexión's final removal.